Tenacity of the Forgotten
by Ralthe
Summary: Kira has dissapeared. Near has taken up the title of L. The world is rebuilding. Leave it to a bored shinigami to cause massive havoc. Rated T for swearing, and madness.
1. Chapter 1

Darkness. He thought of nothing else. The darkness that surrounded him, engulfed him. All that there was. He had tried before to escape the barren wasteland, yet the horizon never changed. The Darkness remained. There was no sound. It was still. An unforgiving world, it was. He could do nothing. He was trapped in a lifeless world. He was all alone, in an empty space. This was his end, his punishment, and he hated it.

_This could be a little bit harder than I thought_

Endless time passed. Unaware of how long he had been there. A week? A year? There were no definitives in this... this..hell, a euphemism to be sure. Why was he here? He couldn't remember that either. He could barely remember who he was.

_Rub.... Rub.... Rub..._

Slowly, his mind weakened, crippled by nothingness. Whatever he had as ambitions, morals, were all but dissipated. Still, one, only one ideal never strayed far from his mind.

"My my... how the mighty have fallen----

"Who's there? Who are you? Speak to me!" the young man screamed into was would be the skies. He jolted abruptly, but nothing was there. A voice without origin. Somehow, he already knew he had felt that voice, a long time ago.

"You can't remember yet? Well let me just finish this here...."

_Rub.... Rub...._

Brightness. He saw brightness. It was coming towards him, quickly. Before he could move, the darkness had been ridden. He gasped for oxygen. His eyes could finally see the fiendish eyes staring down at him.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Raito?" The shinigami laughed.

"How am I here Ryuk? The last thing I remember was... was..." Raito's memory faltered. Had he really been out that long? "Ryuk.... You wrote down my name in the notebook! You fucking killed me!" Raito screamed as his quivering hand pointed directly in the face of the shinigami. His memories were in full swing. The warehouse, Mikami's foolishness, being shot multiple times by Matsuda, and Near. Near. Nate Rivers, the successor to L. How close he was to achieving his goal..... how far he had fallen... His body, still shaking from it's awakening, stumbled to the ground.

"Heh heh heh, this is your grave Raito. They really didn't take too long it making it." He smirked.

Raito looked down in horror as he saw his name etched badly on a tombstone "Yagami Raito, 1986-2010" He stared down to realize that he was covered in dirt, and in the same clothes we wore at his death, blood stains and all. Ryuk wasn't lying.

"Three years have passed, it's a different world now."

"That still doesn't answer my question!" Raito grew angry with rage

"Calm down Raito, otherwise I may just lose my interest again." Ryuk chuckled as he waived a small white object in the air "This is the Death Eraser. To put it simply if you erase a name in the notebook, they come back to life."

"So I have my original lifespan back?" Light inquired.

"Yes, unfortunately for you, they only work once, and the only one who has these in his possession..... is the Shinigami King."

"And somehow, you managed to get one?" Light said sarcastically, still being phased about being dead.

"It took so many juicy apples I had saved up to bribe this off of him." Ryuk moaned, very displeased.

"See, after you died, the world regained order. People didn't believe that you were truly gone, that you were once again looking for another proxy. But as the months went by, their hope diminished in their savior. Crimes came about. It's as if you never existed. Of course, they are still some small, scattered churches praising the all-mighty Kira" Ryuk grinned as he watched Raito face go into absolute

shock. "I got pretty bored with such dullness"

"What!?" He screamed, ignoring Ryuk's reason of resurrection for simple boredom, as his voice became coarse and brutal. His body shook with tremendous anguish. His eyes darkened to blood red. Raito's face was distraught with anger. He had lost the last small amount of control and temperament that he had. "How dare they! Kira is true justice. Kira is the law, he who governs what is right! I brought the world peace and order! I am the hope of Humanity! I will rebuild this world, and rid it of it's rot! I am Kira, God of this world, and I will let NO ONE get in my way and stop me! I will defeat Near!"

"Then I suppose you'll be needing this to finish him then" Ryuk laughed as he passed Raito a black notebook. The words "Death Note" were written in white across the top.

"My first death note, how thoughtful" Raito said sarcastically. "I wonder how you got a hold of this........."

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In the Shinigami Realm........

"RYUUUUUUUUUUKKKUUUUUUU!!!!!!"

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"If you look to be in an unsurvivable event, like last time, I will kill you Raito, don't forget that. The deal between the shinigami and the human."

"Hopefully it won't come to that, then you'd be bored, wouldn't you Ryuk?" Light insisted.

"Right" Ryuk agreed "I should have also told you that Misa and Mikami have died."

"Those fools, those incompetent fools, if I've learned anything from my death, it's to never trust anyone else with a death note" Raito scoffed at the idea of using another person again. He was the only one who

could it. He was the only one. "Besides, if Near were to die of a heart attack, or any other manner, they would definitely suspect something. And worse, they would just send in another successor. Raito did not like that idea. Not one bit.

"So how are you going to defeat Near if you can't use the Death Note?" Ryuk asked, not expecting what was to come.

Raito froze, dead his tracks. His head slowly turned towards the shinigami. His eyes were cross as he glared at the God of Death. "I don't know, Ryuk. Do YOU have a goddamn idea!?"

'There's something wrong with Raito', Ryuk thought. 'How creepy, I've never seen Raito like this, maybe MU isn't such a nice place...' He took a step back. "Actually, there is this man, who is very.... interesting, who you may want to meet. He could help you out here."

"Where is he Ryuk?" Light demanded, regaining some of his composure.

"He's in Los Angeles. Trouble is, he's a little.... locked up at the moment"

"Well then, let's see if we can't do something about that, Ryuk." Light began to laugh a roaring laugh that pierced the heaves.

'I will defeat you Near, For I am Kira, God of the new World!"

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AN: My first effort at a fanfiction. I was going to go with some super suspense, but it didn't work out too well, would have required light to show up much much later on. Any and all suggestions will be considered, except for trolls, thanks for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2

He sat atop a monumental hill as he watched the world go by, a world without Kira. A world that rotted. Evil triumphed over justice. They had no one to save them. They had lost their God.

In the distance was a rather large building, possibly a facility, he wasn't quite sure. The building shined in the starlight. As he and the shinigami came closer, the lights brought a strange white glow to its appearance. He felt a feeling not dear to him, complete disgust. He was taken aback, which he took a careless effort to show.

"Is this is your idea of irony, Ryuk? A prison?! Kira does not negotiate with criminals! He kills them! What makes this one convicted felon different from the thousands, no, millions which I have cleansed the world of?" He snarled, glaring at the beast.

Ryuk sighed "You'll see.. He's quite.. interesting, to say the least.. henh henh" He pulled out his death note from its holder. "Besides, you don't really have anything to lose, now don't you?" He grinned as he pointed to light yagami's name still written clearly in the notebook.

Light could remember that day perfectly. He had killed him, the forty seconds slowly ticking down. His eventual death that he couldn't escape. His heart slowly went into arrest as he cried out in pain. And then, he ended up... there... Mu.

"Light?... Light?" Ryuk said as he waived his hand in front the distraught man's face. 'Maybe he needs apples, those are good' he thought to himself. "I wonder if I'll be getting any soon, they 're so juicy..."

Light quickly jolted, regaining his senses. "What is it Ryuk?"

"Oh, oh yes, how are we going to get in there without the guards finding out? I'm invisible to all the other humans, but you? I hadn't thought of that." Ryuk pondered.

"You rarely think of anything, Ryuk. However, I think I have just the plan. My death note still works, doesn't it?" Ryuk nodded, his eyes opening, sensing there could be fun to be had. "Come Ryuk, let's find this lowly criminal you have an affinity for."

He quietly slid through the prison gates. He read the sign ahead of him, near the entering doors, which read 'California State Prison, Los Angeles County'.

Light pushed open the metal doors and entered the facility, surprised by the lack of security. A lone guard sat at his post, his eyes concentrated on the daily newspaper. The iron doors quickly closed behind him. Suddenly, the guard was alert, and gazed at the young man.

"This outta be fun" Ryuk laughed, knowing Light could not respond without raising the suspicions of the guard.

"Visiting hours are over, sir. I will have to ask you to leave immediately." The gray-haired man mumbled in a low voice. He was still sitting at his desk, not willing to move an inch.

"I'm sorry, but my father has recently been incarcerated. I have been trying to find him for a long time. Would you happen to know if he's here?" Light inquired as he conjured up a false story.

"Sure, why not kid" He said, feeling sympathetic for the poor man in raggedy clothes. "Besides, there isn't much to do here anyways. What's his name?"

Light pulled a torn paper out his dirtied pocket. "His name is a little bit different. It would be easier if you looked here." He said quietly, trying to stop a malicious smile from coming about through his lips.

The elder man grabbed a hold of the paper. "Soichi- W-w-what the hell is that?" The guard screamed. A glance of horror overtook him. It was like nothing he had ever seen.

Light looked around the room, toying with him. "What's wrong? I don't see anything.." He lied.

The officer pointed behind Light. "How can you not see THAT!" The wrinkles in his face became more visible, his pupils were widening, his heart rate increasing. He reminded Light of someone he knew once, in a past life, and he was enjoying this. Maybe just a little too much.

"Oh! So you can see me!" Ryuk said, grinning in utmost glee. "Then that means that's-"

"Exactly" Light interrupted. 'The last thing I need is Ryuk accidentally leaving clues for Near. Almost anything could set them off, I need to be careful.' he thought to himself diligently.

"W-what's going on here?"

"Nothing at all." Light smirked. "You're just having a bad dream, old man."

Ryuk floated towards the guard, leaving little space in between their faces. "Boo"

"AHHHHHH!!" The man's balance was thrown off guard. His chair tipped, smacking his head against the concrete wall behind him. The chair wobbled hard right, resulting in a massive smash of poor wood and human flesh.

You used a piece of your death note, letting that guy see me, didn't you?" Ryuk asked "I think you already did that to get rid of that FBI agent...A little stale Light?"

Light had no time to respond to Ryuk's foolish insults. He knew others would soon come to see what had caused such a racket. Light had little time to spare.

"Now Ryuk, where is he?" Light angrily yelled impatiently

The shinigami stopped for a moment to think. "Hmm, it has actually been a while since I've checked through the shinigami hole. Let's see.. Was he even here to begin with?" Light glared at him, His menacing eyes quickly put Ryuk on the right track. "Ah, right, I remember now, not too far, second floor, cell block B."

"Are you sure?" Light was not in the best mood. Ryuk sometimes had his charms, though he wasn't showing them now.

"More or less.. heheh" He cackled

"Ryuk, go on ahead, disable the security cameras. I'll meet up with you soon. It will still take a little bit of work to avoid the personnel. I have a little bit of unfinished business here."

"Sure thing Light. Meet you up there." Ryuk laughed as his wings gave flight, into the ceiling above.

"Good riddance, at least for now.." Light said to himself. He did indeed try to avoid talking with himself in the realm of nothingness, though it did him little good, other than barely saving his sanity.

Light picked up the piece of the death note. He looked closely at the man on the floor. "Good, he's only unconscious."

He suddenly heard voices coming across a long corridor. "Mr, Taylor, are you alright? Mr. Taylor?"

Light took to the stairs, intent on not being found out. He ran up the two flights of stairs. Time was working against him. He could hear the elevators operating. "How foolish. Not one of the guards thought of the remote possibility of an intruder." He thought to himself.

"Attention security! Security Alert"

Light reached his destination, the second floor. It was bare, a few prison cells, which would normally be heavily guarded. Ryuk was there, waiting.

"So, this is him?" Light said coldly

"Look for yourself" Ryuk chuckled

He looked into the cell, and had no words to his name. Ryuk said nothing, only sporting a smile which was spread across his face. There, behind bars, was a pale man, with long, untended dark hair. All of his skin was uneven, looking somewhat grafted, burned to the core. His eyes were black as coal, his pupils non visible. Light, absolutely perplexed beyond belief, stared at the man, who was sitting in an irregular fashion cross from him.

"Ryuk! What the hell is this!?" Light screamed violently at the shinigami. He began to breathe heavily. He grew angry with intensified rage. "This HAS to be a trick, a setup! He is dead! I know it! He can't be alive! This is impossible!!" Light could not understand what was going on. He was there, right in front of him. Rem had killed him with her death note. He had seen him die in his arms. "L is dead!!"

The black haired man's attention was quickly focused. "L is dead? L...is...dead?" He leaned up against the bars, crouching down, his toes keeping his balance, his dark eyes evened with Lights.

"What does it matter to you?" Light sneered.

The man turned and cracked his neck "It in fact means everything to me, Light Yagami."

Light froze."How do you know my name?" He turned towards Ryuk, who simply shook his head.

"Hmm...I have always been able to see the names of others, but I cannot tell when you die. How very odd."

"Ryuk, how could he have the shinigami eyes?" He shouted at the shinigami.

"Shinigami?" The man bit his thumb. "A god of death? They do not exist."

"I don't have the time for this." Light muttered. Time was wearing thinner and thinner. "Here" he said as he tossed a scrap of paper at the man.

He caught the paper and held it in an awkward fashion. He staggered backwards, falling on his hind quarters. "S-shinigami, interesting."

"My name is Ryuk" The shinigami said

"Who are you?!" Light demanded, deciding not to comment on Ryuk's poor timing.

"I am... his true successor, B" Light was astounded. Had L really planned so far? "I was the one to surpass L. However, I could only ever be a copy as long as L existed. He was the original, and I, only a copy. I challenged him, with a case only superior intellect could solve. But I underestimated him. I was so close. And this was the outcome..." He lifted up his right sleeve, revealing dark red burn patches and stitches along his arm. "I was to die there! Not survive in this horrible state! But now... L is dead, L IS dead, the copy is now the original.." He smiled cruelly.

"Not exactly" Light said. B's eyes grew watchful. His glare intensified. "L was succeeded after his death."

"By who?!" B demanded angrily. "I am the only true successor! The only one rightfully to be so! This new L is a fake! He cannot be L! I must become L, at any costs!"

Light looked down on him "Funny, you want to become L, and I want to kill L."

"I believe we could reach a compromise. You can call me.... Ryuuzaki.. henh henh"

"Oooh.." Ryuk said, seemingly intrigued as Light went for the keys behind him

"We have a common goal, to take down L." Light said. He clenched his left fist as he unlocked the door.

"Tell me, Light-kun, what is your reason?" Ryuuzaki questioned

"My reason? My reason.... is because.... I'm Kira."

"Interesting.. henh henh" Ryuuzaki laughed, still trying to perfect a rather fake laugh.

"Now let's see if we can't get out of here without any of the guards-"

"I have a better idea" Ryuuzaki said as he ran down the apparent stairs in a swift manner.

"Ryuk, what have you gotten me into to?!"

"Hahahaha" Ryuk laughed. "this will definitely not be boring!"


	3. Chapter 3

"You didn't need to do that! You bastard!" Light Yagami screamed at the dark haired fellow he had just met a short while ago. "That's not how I work! Kira passes judgment on criminals, to protect those kinds of people who believe in justice, not the other way around! They didn't deserve that fate!"

They had found themselves a complex that seemed unused for what looked like a vast time. It was a two story apartment, slowly falling apart at that. Shingles fell from the roof. A dark, stingy place with water dripping in the interior. Rats scurried in the floorboards, searching for minuscule bits, pieces, morsels of food, with no avail.

The man took a step closer. "Oh, but I did do that." Beyond Birthday snickered, dripping wet from the thunderous clouds that had taken form over top. "A single unconscious guard and one escaped prisoner sounds much more suspicious than 10 dead guards and four cell blocks worth of men set loose, doesn't it? Henh henh"

It was true. 'He has a point. Had Ryuuzaki not kill those men, we'd have a serious problem.' Light thought to himself. 'But still, this guy...is certainly someone I shouldn't take lightly, not in the slightest.'

"It was something that needed to be done, besides, not much you can do about it, unless you can time travel as well as kill with heart attacks." He looked at Light with a crooked smile, sinister crimson eyes and a pale complexity. He paused as he thought for a moment. "How did L die?"

Light had hoped he would never ask that question, Unfortunately for him, Beyond Birthday was nothing less than perspective. "A rogue shinigami killed him, there was nothing we could do." Light said, half lying, hoping that Ryuuzaki would believe him, and that Ryuk would catch on before they had yet another problem.

Beyond Birthday stared at the shinigami, who had been quietly going unnoticed until then.

"Hey, don't look at me!" Ryuk waived his hands in an X pattern. "I'd never help Light out of a situation, even if it would have ended my pleasure, although it would have kept the boredom away too.. heh heh" He laughed as he saw Light look at him intently out of the corner of his eye.

"Boredom, huh?" Beyond Birthday looked around the barren room, sadly returning to the conversation. "Sigh, we really need to stock up on food." He gushed the saliva around in his mouth. "So, then you took over his position, didn't you?"

Tried as he might, Light could not keep a reaction from becoming apparent. There was a sure reason why Ryuuzaki was at a time L's successor.

Beyond Birthday grinned, knowing his premises did not falter. "Light Yagami, as I recall, there hasn't been a 'sighting' of Kira in approximately three years, what did exactly happen? Surely you didn't let this new L figure out your identity?" He inquired.

Light hesitated. Ryuuzaki, as this character went by, was incredibly intelligent. He stood still, trying to give the madman no psychological edges.

Short time passed, and Light had said nothing. "You did... Interesting" Beyond Birthday bit his thumb, not piercing the skin, though just enough to leave indents. "Then Kira was defeated by his successor." An odd, not entirely sarcastic, happy sadistic grin grew across his face.

He tried very much to contain his deep hatred. "He's nothing compared to the original L." Light said, increasingly bitter in mood.

"And yet... he killed you, or at least you made him believe so, which I doubt. I know the lines you do not cross without reason, assistance from criminals, death of innocent persons. A single, last resort. Lines a man would not cross unless he had something important to lose. That means..You... You have died, Light Yagami... henh henh" Light could say nothing. Ryuuzaki had figured him out, barely knowing him for one whole day. His jaw was near dropping.

"Surprised, Light Yagami? Even a murderous criminal gets the morning paper. It's not that hard to deduce after that." Beyond Birthday once again took up his darkened laugh, one that could even scare Ryuk, had he been not also been laughing. "How does a man, even as mysterious and destructive as Kira, resurrect himself from the dead?"

"That's something you do not want to find out, and won't be given to chance to do so." Light said coldly, disliking being analyzed, especially by those who commit sin in the eyes of God.

"Very well then, Light Yagami, suit yourself." Beyond Birthday stoically responded, unfazed by Light's short yet intriguing reaction. "So, The great Kira has fallen. Why do you come back now, Light Yagami? Why is now your selected time? Or, was it ever your choice?" Beyond Birthday barraged him with unending questions, one after another, intent on on making his reason known. I presume you know the answer, Light Yagami. Such a look in one's eyes... What are you keeping hidden?"

'Damn you!' Light thought 'These questions, the way he acts, his odd habits, he reminds me of L. Maybe I'd be better off without him pestering me'"We don't have time to play twenty questions, Ryuuzaki!"

"I'm quite certain we do. In a city of approximately 3.8 million persons, the chances of an armed police force finding us in this abandoned complex on the outskirts of said world city is much less than one percent.." Beyond Birthday estimated. "But you would rather that I stop, I can postpone until later. Tell me about this new L."

"He calls himself Near, and he is vastly inferior to L-"

"Perhaps, or perhaps you had just simply lost. You most likely made a costly mistake, and it cost you dearly."

"Enough!" Light demanded. 'That fool, I will not allow him to pick away at me like some kind of vulture!' Light regained slight composure. "Besides, he didn't do it alone!" Light yelled. Beyond Birthday's curiosity was picked as he looked Light dead in the eye.

"Odd, The persons L picks as successors do not usually work with others, unless.... a rival?"

"Very cunning, Ryuuzaki, exactly that." Light envisioned Mello, Mihael Keehl, or at least the childhood drawing he had seen of him found at Whammy's House. The man that killed his father, and left his sister in a horrible state. His family....something he had not thought of since his death. 'I wonder, are they okay?' Mello; another reason why judgment needed to be served.

"The only reason why Near had success in defeating me was because of his, L, and... Mello's combined work and knowledge. If he has any hunch whatsoever, he'll go with it. Individually, he's much less effective than L."

"This new, and as you say, incompetent L, does he know I exist?"

Light stopped for a moment, trying to mentally word out a sentence. "Actually, up until Ryuk here told me about you, I would have never known about you. And I don't think that Near has any knowledge of you either. All of the information L had obtained was deleted moments before he died. I think you're in the clear, Ryuuzaki."

"By an older gentleman, am I correct?" Beyond Birthday questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, how do you know that Ryuuzaki?" Light asked, puzzled 'This guy knows a lot about L, though I probably would have luckier if he was L.' Light thought to himself.

"Light Yagami, there are many things of which I know of, the many Kira's you manipulated, not to mention the media, and most likely many government officials, if only by fear.

"Not much gets by you, does it? Light said, impressed by Ryuuzaki's knowledge.

"Rarely does anything." Beyond Birthday said. "Now, how will we proceed, Light Yagami?"

Light was hard at thought. There had to be some way to gain Near's attention. An idea then suddenly came to his mind, almost as if someone had stuck a metaphorical light bulb over top. It burned intensely with passion. "I'll have to go without killing as Kira does. Near would automatically assume it would be me, as hard as that sounds. In the meantime, you haven't been out of prison in quite some time I assume, right?" Light smiled.

"That would be correct, Light Yagami. Do you plan on using me... as a distraction?" Beyond Birthday inquired, licking his lips at the thought of murder.

"Not a distraction, more like a case to thwart Near, to draw him out out into the open, to-"Light said midway through his sentence.

"Bait." Beyond Birthday interrupted.

"You could say that." Light laughed. "If we can bring them to us, Near and his group of investigators, we can make sure-"

"That there will be no further successors, and that they will be dead, either by your methods, or mine." Beyond Birthday grinned, interested in Light's crude yet seemingly effective plan.

"Right. Near, like L, only takes up cases that interest him, so I hope you have some good ideas"

"I most certainly do, it has been quite some time since I've been able to..." Beyond Birthday trailed off into his own private thoughts, quickly snapping out of a blood lust furry "We'll see if this Near is a true challenge worthy of me."

"Light, when am I going to get my apples? It's almost been an entire week! I don't know if I can control the symptoms." Ryuk, quietly observing the two humans bicker and contemplate, grew bored and impatient.

Beyond Birthday looked up at the shinigami. "Ryuk, have you ever tried strawberry jam? It's the taste of fruits, like strawberries, in a liquid-like state."

Ryuk shook his head, though clearly interested in this new concept. "Do they make this in apple flavor?"

"It's quite.." Beyond Birthday took a short pause, ignoring Ryuk, which was an apparent habit of the two geniuses, and cracked his neck "... Delicious."

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Hey everyone, another chapter is up. Next chapter will involve a couple of new (or should i say old?) characters, which will probably make the chapters a bit longer. There is a secret project i'm working on, which is almost done, give a week or so. Might not be what the internet is expecting, or can read for that matter (including me). I'll continue the month end update witing this, seeing as a have the time. Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Aizawa, isn't it a little bit strange of us, the entire investigation force, being sent here to investigate? I mean, it's pretty far away, don't you think?" Matsuda asked.

"He trusts us, Matsuda. Besides, he only takes cases that interest him, and if an imitator of Kira doesn't do it for him, this must be something." Aizawa concluded.

'Right' Matsuda thought. 'That one Kira a couple of months who killed people who wanted to die. He said that the imitator, C-Kira, was a coward. The murders stopped after that...'

Mogi made a seemingly agreeing grunt. "I agree with Aizawa, there's something up with this case, something isn't quite right though." Ide, Aizawa's close friend added.

"I think it's pretty cool." Yamamoto, the newest member of the group, said out of the blue. "Being asked to look into something that's been talked about in the news that's ongoing right now. They still don't know how it happened."

"He probably has an idea about that." Matsuda mentioned. "He studies, a lot, and I mean a lot, of cases. If he wasn't so busy, I bet he'd be there right now, picking apart clues."

"Where are we ahead again, Aizawa?" Yamamoto asked.

"We're almost there, just a few more blocks, though in this horrible traffic, that could be awhile. Look for yourself." Aizawa responded.

Yamamoto peered outside of the vehicle. They were surrounded by many taxi cabs, all looking very similar, the yellow colors blending in, creating a large sea of small cars and angry motorists. 'It looks like New York City here, well, as much as they show it on TV."

"I wish he would have given us some better accommodations." Ide, driving the compact rental car, sighed. "I'm not used to driving on the right side of the road, it makes turning complicated.." He swerved awkwardly to the left, squishing Yamamoto and Aizawa into Matsuda.

"Ow..." Matsuda groaned. "I hope you get better at this, I have a feeling we'll be here for a while."

"Mogi, pass me the case files, and Ide, please watch your driving." Aizawa asked, readjusting his suit from the turn.

Mogi, who was in the passenger seat, nodded. He managed to pull out a large briefcase from under the storage compartment underneath his legs, which he handed to Aizawa.

"Let's see here." Aizawa said, opening the briefcase. "It says here that there is one victim so far in this case. Her name was Béatrice Bourloton, age 31. She lived alone. There are no witnesses either. Residence is about a couple kilometers from Santa Monica." Aizawa continued to look at the files, glaring them down.

"Wouldn't that be miles, Aizawa? The U.S still works with the imperial system." Yamamoto stated, looking through his travel book of the United States.

"Yeah, you're right." Matsuda answered. "And there's only one victim? Isn't that kinda odd for him to send us just for this?"

"Maybe he's trying to prevent the victim count from increasing. There aren't many criminals nowadays, left alone serial killers." Ide said, slowly getting a hold of driving the americanized way.

Aizawa closed the briefcase, and passed it back to the otherwise silent Mogi."Okay, we're almost there. The police force that originally responded to the call placed by the neighbors left everything as they found it. They did take care of the body though. The autopsy report and the pictures are all still in that briefcase. We'll definitely need that if we're to figure out what the hell happened here." Aizawa concluded.

"Right chief!" Yamamoto responded happily, receiving a cold glare from Matsuda, sitting right beside him. "What did I do?" He asked.

"It's best if you don't know." Aizawa said, as he looked outside the window, seeing the somber clouds also moving in the same direction.

Matsuda sat quietly, staring downwards, reflecting on the man he once called chief. How much he believed in justice. How he never gave up hope. How he ended up being a pawn of Kira.

The car came to a slow stop outside of a small beige house. "We're here. Pile out everyone." Ide said, turning off the ignition and exiting the compact vehicle. The others soon followed one by one, poking their heads outside into the light breaths coming their way.

"All right, let's get down to business." Aizawa said. He walked up the gravel walkway, the investigation team behind him. "Who's got the key to get in?"

"I've got it." Mogi answered, stepping in front of Aizawa and opening the door, entering the now unoccupied house.

"It looks like a pretty normal place to me." Matsuda stated, walking into the only level of the house. It was quaint to be sure. A small, war-time house, made quickly for residency.

"The victim was found in her bedroom. Yamamoto, come with me and we'll check it out. Matsuda, Mogi, see if there are any signs as to what happened here. Ide, see if our killer left anything." Aizawa commanded. Leadership wasn't something he had naturally, but he managed to pull the team together.

"The bedroom should be this way, all the way at the end." Yamamoto pointed down a hallway that split in two different directions

"Hey Aizawa, somethings not right here." Ide said. "I'm looking around, and well, there are _no fingerprints._ Absolutely none. And you said the police left everything as they found it?"

"Yeah, this place is really clean!" Matsuda yelled loudly for no apparent reason, to the chagrin to Mogi, standing right beside him.

'That can't be right... Wait a second, what happened to Yamamoto? I told him to stick with me..' Aizawa thought.

"Oh.... Oh my God... Who the hell would do that...? I think I'm gonna be sick." Yamamoto, pale as snow itself dropping on a cold winter's eve, looked away, disturbed of what he'd just seen, something he, as a new detective, did not know what to believe or what to think of it. The rest of the team rushed to the scene, trying figure out where he had ended up, quickly reaching the originations of the voice.

There, reflected in the large bathroom mirror, in gruesome blood, laid smeared letters 'BB'. The investigation team froze, knowing this was no ordinary case.

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A young man laid down, playing with small action figures, zooming them around in the air as if they were in an epic battle. He was surrounded in a gigantic room, void of color and emotion, absolutely filled with monstrous towers of dice, many meters in height and width, stretching across the walls, being dangerously close to the ceiling, which had quite a height itself.

A much older man crept his way into the fortress of solitude, carefully avoiding the towers, as to not stir up the anger of the young man, his well-put effort well used. "Sir, it's the Japanese task force, they've arrived at the scene and have fully investigated the matters. They are ready and they have their report."

"Thank you, Roger, please put them on screen, and call the other members in here immediately.." The albino man twirled his hair in a loop as he happily watched the gentleman maneuver himself out of the maze. "Do not topple my dice." He said while giving him an innocent smile.

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"Ryuk, how does a person acquire the shinigami eyes without having a death note, or without even knowing of shinigami in the first place?" Light asked, walking through a busy street full of pedestrians as to not bring attention to himself.

"I don't know Light." Ryuk cackled. "I guess a shinigami could have dropped his eyes-"

"Like you dropped your death note?" Light interrupted, almost bumping into a woman, continued on, his manners obviously left behind in Mu.

"Yeah, but I've never heard of any shinigami who've done it. They must have been pretty bored." He sported a grin from end to end, remembering his adventure of escaping boredom began.

"I see." Light Yagami began to think. "Ryuuzaki could be quite useful. If there's ever a criminal or replacement for L, he can read the name, without me having to sacrifice half of my lifespan.

"When am I getting my apples, Light? The symptoms might start anytime!" Ryuk shouted, aggravating Light, being the only one who could hear him.

"Soon, soon, be patient Ryuk, though I'll need your help if we're to do this." 'If at any time I'm going to be able to concentrate, Ryuk will have to be shut up'

"Okay!" Ryuk said happily. "So, where to?"

"We're already here." Light said, as he walked near a fruit vendor in the possession of a Latino man, filled with bananas, oranges, pineapples, strawberries, and most important of all, apples.

"Hello sir, how can I help you on this fine afternoon?" The man asked pleasantly, hoping to a profit.

"I'll take a dozen apples." Light said, shifting his eyes to the right, watching Ryuk slowly explode from within with excitement.

"Certainly, just a minute." The man replied, turning his back for a slight second to grab the apples from behind. Turning back around, a bag of apples in hand, he saw something he couldn't explain. He gasped in astonishment and fear, as almost everyone near him did as well. "Ah! What's going on?" As he looked about to find reason to the theatrics, many civilians ran a muck. "My fruits, oh my god!" Fruits of all sorts and kinds went up into the skies, eventually falling onto the ground, causing massive splattering everywhere."This place has got haunted by ghosts! I knew this place was a bad idea! I've got to get out of here!" The man screamed, throwing up the bag of apples and running hysterically the hell out of there.

"Gotcha." Light said, catching the bag of apples, he being seemingly unnoticeable due to the mass panic. 'People, they are quite pathetic without guidance.' "C'mon Ryuk, we'd better get out of here quickly. It won't be too long until an investigative force of some kind arrives."

"Whew, I'm tired, throwing fruits like that really takes a lot out of you. Too much work for a shinigami." Ryuk said.

"Are you satisfied now, Ryuk?" Light asked, walking down the abandoned streets casually, a smile on his face.

"Oh, yes I am, but isn't stealing apples like this against your beliefs? You do kill criminals, even the ones who steal you know." Ryuk laughed, taking a bite out of another apple.

"Shut up Ryuk." Light murmured coldly, avoiding the question, which Ryuk probably knew the answer to. "You have your apples, just leave me alone."

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Beyond Birthday sat quietly in the building where he and Light had taken up unofficial residence. His hands were drenched in blood, leaving a red, darkened trail of blood splatters across the room. It felt as if it was many years since he had had this invigorating experience. The rapid beating of the heart, increased breathing, widening of the pupils, animal instinctiveness. These were all symptoms of what he enjoyed. Absolute fear for his life on his face, as he slowly understood what slowly would become of him. The grin of delight it produced, murdering a person, watching them die, unsuccessfully trying to save their miserable, pitiful, meaningless life. Painfully, harmlessly, quickly, slowly, the method was insignificant, the satisfaction given was always savorable, delectable without match. His eyes, eyes of the shinigami, were staring, immensely concentrated, out into the night, stars aplenty. The man's agonizing face, blood emptying out of his muscular body, collapsing to the ground, his last thoughts before death. Dying completely alone, accompanied only by a man, a man looking only of a shadow of the night. The sad thing about his death, all of them he had ever caused, that they were written in stone. Their lifespan was at their limit, and they were hopeless in preventing their demise. Every person, every murder, every victim, was imprinted in his memory.

His thoughts, returning to the present, away from peace, turned to the man who had set him free, Light Yagami. Kira. He sat alone, his back up against the corner of two walls, no shadows, no light, save for the moon slowly rising on a crisp night. "The one who kills with only a name and a face, normally by heart attacks. A lifespan I cannot see." He had almost figured him out, his motives, yet how he killed, and by assumption, why couldn't he, more so wouldn't he, kill the current L was still a mystery. "Perhaps the two are inter-linked somehow...And that shinigami Ryuk. He certainly gives sense to the equation of Kira. If one can believe in a god of death, one can only naturally assume that Kira's powers are supernatural, though that was well-given."

"Well then Ryuuzaki, I can see that you have commenced on our plan." Light Yagami said, stepping into the barren room alone, obviously unaware of the conversation Beyond Birthday was having with himself. Footsteps could be heard, being closer and closer for the past minute, murmurs traveling through the walls. But Light thought nothing of it. 'Ugh, you would think even a criminal as well-versed and intelligent as him would prefer a little cleanliness... How troublesome.' Light thought, looking down at the massive amounts of blood puddles across the floor.

"That I have, Light Yagami. No doubt your orders were helpful. I suspect manhunts are already out for the murderer. Their belief will most likely be that the escaped figure is the one responsible. That is the only lead they will be given. I must admit, though this is not my preferred method, it certainly is quite exhilarating."

"Nice to know." Light replied sarcastically. "Oh, I managed to get something while Ryuk and I were out.. 'shopping,'" which came out in an exasperated tone. Being reduced to petty crimes was not Light's forte, and it did little, if nothing, to his self-esteem. He threw a small container at Ryuuzaki, who caught at a rapid pace, his reflexes faster than most.

Beyond Birthday looked down and grinned appropriately. 'It has been a while'. He thought happily as he crackled his neck, without giving a clue of his actions. "Henh henh henh." His fake laughter and unexpected spinal movement sent cold shivers down Light's otherwise solid spine. "Strawberry jam. Thank you, Light Yagami." Beyond Birthday proceeded to dip his bloodied hands into the container and scoop out some strawberry jam, stuffing the substances in his mouths, his eyes almost rolling back into the back of his head with delight, standing in a crooked fashion. Light looked away in suspended belief.

Ryuk flew in the skies, his wings mighty and strong, flying at maximum capacity through the air, had an apple in both of his hands. "I got my apples!" He laughed into the darkening night.


	5. Chapter 5

"Light Yagami, let me understand this correctly: you wish to accompany me on an incursion?" Beyond Birthday inquired, slowly licking his tongue over the entire inner surface of the container of strawberry jam he had obtained. He remarked that blood mixed fairly well together with the compound.

"Yes, that's right Ryuuzaki. There's something I must acquire. Without it, it will make our... adventure more difficult than it has to be." Light, watching a sickening sight go down in the process. He wasn't amused.

"Hmm, if you must come with me to obtain what you desire, then you must not be able to get a hold of it through 'normal' means, normal quite being the understatement." He managed to speak though he was still entangled with the jar, noting that gods of death were not what most persons would run into on a daily basis. _Most people_. "An object with more security. Something more... expensive, exclusive. I ascertain that you will also use this chance to view my abilities in action, not solely the aftermath." He finished, looking down

"There's almost no use trying to keep secrets from you, is there Ryuuzaki?" Light half-halfheartedly laughed, seizing this moment to put his back up against the wall, the closest thing he currently had to qualify as relaxation. He would have to fix that. That would come, eventually, in good time. Along with a mop.

"No truly there is not. Unless there is nothing I suspect. But that is hard to come across, wielder of Kira's power." Beyond Birthday rolled his shoulders slowly, causing an assortment of cracks along his collar bone.

'He's quite to the point. I like that. I'm starting to believe to listening to Ryuk was a good idea after-all.' He thought. 'He does have some odd habits to him though. Then again, if he was the replacement, the _true _replacement as Ryuuzaki would say, isn't that to be expected?'

He pondered to himself, creating a slight, miniature conversation within his mind. L had his sweets, cherries, ice cream, chocolate, a diabetics worst nightmare had they given into their cravings. Mello, he had truly never known, but he assumed he was different from the rest. Near, from what he had seen, and had not pushed out of his memory outright, seemed inclined to act through small caricatures representing others in what would have been his final hour. What _should _have been. Defeated by such a person of childish antics. That was not something he was fond of, not even remotely. Defeat neither. Near would grow to regret that day, immensely.

"So then, when will you be ready? As usual, there aren't any limits to what you do. However, if I find what I need, then..." He meant to continue, a smirk appeared over his face.

"Then we would obviously have to cover up that in addition to murder, burglary had been committed. I assure you, Light Yagami, I have done much like this in the past. I allow no mistakes. They will never suspect anything other than the continued wrath..... of a deranged serial killer.. henh henh. Henh henh henh henh!" Beyond Birthday laughed hysterically, seeming almost unable to stop, consumed in himself and the thing he had now practically mastered.

Light Yagami barely managed to keep his balance. Such a chilling laugh, one he had never heard before, and hoped he would never be in the presence of ever again. Something to creep out Kira, that just just a _tad _different. That normally possible be any means. He had true, raw, unbound murderous intent. Unlike Light himself, who disposed of criminals in the name of justice, Ryuuzaki... he just wanted to kill. He was driven, and from what it looked like, he wouldn't stop until he achieved or died in his attempt.

"So then, Light Yagami, will the shinigami be accompanying us as well? By extension, where has he disappeared to?" Beyond Birthday asked, regaining his minimal composure.

"You know what they say, Ryuuzaki, an apple a day keeps the shinigami away."

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"Calm down Yamamoto, it'll be alright." He whispered. Admittedly, Matsuda wasn't too sure of what he'd just said. He had never in his life ever see anything like this. Had he been any less experienced, he probably would have done the same thing Yamamoto had done; yell and faint shortly after. As he held the still unconscious body in his arms. He once again looked at what some people could call writing, and shuddered. He remembered once during the early investigations of the Kira case, there was a prisoner who, with his own blood, drew a pentagram shortly before dying. But this seemed so much more... _malicious_.

"Mogi," Aizawa suddenly spoke up. "see if you can an ice pack or something. Hopefully the killer hasn't ran off with everything but the kitchen sink." Mogi nodded, and quickly headed towards the kitchen.

"It's amazing that the killer managed to leave no prints whatsoever, yet he does _this_. I wouldn't doubt that this is the blood of the victim, but that's surely a lot." Ide said, strolling up to the wall, examining it slowly. "Doesn't look like there were any utensils used. Definitely a whack-job."

Aizawa stood solidly. 'If the killer didn't use any utensils, and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary around, that means he must have used.... _his own hands!_' He thought, increasingly disturbed. 'What kind of madmen are we up against? We haven't with anything like this since the revolts after Kira disappeared. Near certainly got us into something huge.'

Footsteps could be heard from the hall. Mogi made haste returning, giving the package of ice to the caretaker, Matsuda, who pressed it up against Yamamoto's temple.

"So," Aizawa apparently for the full team to be in the room, and wanting to leave the matter of the letters on the wall until later. "where was the victim found by the police?"

"Oh." Mogi said, opening up the case files that were inside the briefcase. "It reads that that the responding unit found the corpse approximately 1 meter from the bed, sprawled out across the room in an unusual fashion, face up. Multiple openings in the thighs, stomach, and jugular. There's a photo attached." He motioned to give to Ide, but Aizawa intercepted.

'Mogi certainly spared details, that's for sure.' Aizawa thought, scanning over the photo.

Her body had been mutilated, destroyed, and there were many cruel and unique wounds all over her body. And the most strange thing he hadn't thought of; _somehow, she looked peaceful in her death. _As if she had never went through the agonizing pain her body absorbed.

"Guys, I think he's coming to." Matsuda stated, loosening his grip on the fellow.

Sure enough, Yamamoto awoke in a state of dizziness and confusion. "Whoa, what happened?" he asked distorted, wobbling himself off of the floor.

"You fainting after wandering off into the bedroom." Ide responded, sitting down and relaxing casually on the bed. "You remember anything?"

"Hmm..." He thought aloud. "Oh..Ohhhh... Oh God!" He screamed, drawing the attention once again to himself. "That was real?" The team nodded. "Wow, sorry about that guys, I guess I am still kind of new to this kind of stuff." He blushed, feeling rather inexperienced.

"That's okay, I was kind of like that once," Matsuda smiled widely. How could he not remember the time where he had foolishly, though accidentally observed one of the secret meetings of the Yotsuba group. 'It did prove that one of the members _was_ Kira, and in the end, we caught Higuichi red-handed pretty much. I guess being impulsive sometimes isn't too bad.'

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Some 3000 miles away, the young white-haired man, sat quietly, reading and watching the dozen of screens before him, the remote beside him. News reports from across the entire globe. He looked to the left, center and right, nothing caught his eye. Barely any cases did. But this one... was different.

The door behind him opened slightly. He could see the slim man entering, avoiding the towers he had created until the point his voice could he heard. "Your team is here."

"Send them in, Roger." He twirled around a strand of his curly hair.

Three persons silently walked into the room. Two males and one female. The remnants of the SPK stood behind him, all that they were. They were all here.

"We're all here now, Near, or do you prefer _L_ now?" Gevanni, the shorter of of the two man, less bulky as well, smiled.

'Apparently he's grown some confidence.' Near thought silently "Near is fine, Gevanni" He explained. "Thank you for coming of such short notice. I've come across an unusual case." A smirk flashed across his face.

"What do have in mind, Near?" Halle Lidner asked, finding a stool to sit on near a close counter. She was the sole surviving female of the SPK. Her parents had been murdered by Kira, and taking him down had been her only goal, either working with Near, or (nevertheless how much Near disliked it, as he found that she shared more information with him than she did with him) Mello.

"Gevanni," He stared at him with his panda-bear eyes, effectively making him drop a sweat. "I will need you to investigate a prison facility where a breakout of criminals took place. Many fatalities. They've recaptured all but one of them, and the missing person never went by a name. This may be unrelated, but it could be an important link."

'You've gotta be kidding me!' Gevanni thought, slightly scared of the idea of a convict on the loose. What if he was still in that area? Sometimes he sure thought Near was unreasonable.

"Lidner," Near continued, taking Gevanni's silence for a yes. "I want you to accompany a group of persons. They are competent, but if the situation escalates, it would be better for you to be there." Lidner was a first-rate bodyguard, so it did make proper sense.

"Commander Rester, you will be staying with me." He said, looking up at the tall, blond-haired man. Although he was a very skilled crime scene investigator, he always seemed to follow Near on every incursion.

"As usual, it would seem." Rester agreed. His quiet personality and brute strength, being of an ancient special forces unit, made for an excellent guardian.

Near crawled over to the counter where Halle was sitting, and picked up a small cellphone. "I believe it would it would be in our best interest to make contact with our other group, the same group you will be accompanying. Commander Rester, please turn off the screens." He pointed down towards where he was previously sitting.

As the televisions all turned to white, Near raised his eyebrow at the headlines in one screen in the far right hand bottom corner, and he made a quick notice to research that further: mass panic in los angeles, with claims that fruit was flying about on it's own.

_Click_

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A bizarre began to resonate from inside the room. A set of musical notes, distorted and repeated continuously, as if a two year-old had just found a piano.

"Where's that sound coming from? Could it be a bomb?" Ide asked cautiously, jumping off of the bed.

"Don't you think that's a bit..... _extreme_ Ide?" Matsuda retorted, who began to breath heavily.

'Great, we might need another ice pack' Aizawa thought as he sighed aloud. 'Actually, that's a ring tone of mine." Mogi face-palmed. "Odd thing is though, that I only set that for one specific person, unless..." Aizawa paused, quickly realizing, and fumbled out his phone out of his jacket pocket, turning it on and pressing it up against his ear.

"Yes, this is Aizawa.... Yes we have..... Yes...... No prints so far.... The briefcase, we have it.... Nice place to hide something like that-" He nodded to Mogi, briefcase in his hands, and shut off the phone. "He says there's a notch underneath the handle. If we move that upwards..." Mogi was one step ahead of him.

_Click_

In a flash of light, a screen was visible, glaring white, baring only, in old English text font, was the letter _L._.

"This guy stuffed a laptop in the insides of a briefcase?" Yamamoto asked, scratching his head in confusion. "He's pretty clever!"

"That why it was so heavy...." Mogi grumbled inaudibly.

"It has been quite some time, Aizawa-san." The voice spoke, which most everyone (safe Yamamoto) remembered.

"You've done away the voice modifier?" Aizawa asked, puzzled.

"Not entirely." The voice responded. "I simply did not find any reason to use it at this moment. Were there to be any moments where I would have to deal with unknowns persons, it would become a necessity, however, that is not the case here. Has your team found anything.... unusual, Aizawa?"

"I've already told you that there aren't any fingerprints, Ide combed through the entire area, he couldn't find anything." Aizawa explained, passing the laptop to Ide.

"He's right Near." Ide continued, sitting down once again, seeing as Mogi was right, the make-shift briefcase _was _heavy. "The killer either had been in this house enough times that he'd forgotten every place he'd rested-"

"Or he was a complete neat-freak." Matsuda interrupted loud enough for the speakers to pick up his voice.

"But there's something even stranger here that makes the last comment.." Aizawa glared at Matsuda intensively. "The killer wrote the letters 'BB' on the wall.... in the victim's blood."

There was a brief silence. "Aizawa-san, there is a recorder built in to the top of the screen. Please activate it and turn it towards the wall." Near said. 'BB? What kind of significance is it? A combination of some sort? Initials? A calling card? What could this mean? ' He thought in advance, drawing countless possibilities in quick succession.

Aizawa quickly set up the device on the laptop. It began to emit a blue glow from a small hole, which the team assumed meant it was working properly.

Near gazed at the bloody wall projected via the screen. He was amazed by how the blood flowed seamlessly from one side to another, and there were no gaps of white space in between, as if he had planned this perfectly, without any flaws whatsoever. Some of the blood apparently slid down the wall in his attempt to construct his masterpiece.

"Collect a sample of the blood. There may be information we can extract from it." Near instructed.

"I'm on it." Ide said, beginning to scrape off a bit with a scalpel-like object.

"Send all relevant data to me once you have obtained it. I will keep in contact, in case of any other similar deaths, Aizawa-san." The screen suddenly turned to black.

"He's not too talkative, is he?" Yamamoto asked, being mostly silent for most of the conversation.

"Yeah he is, but that's how all the smart guys work." Matsuda answered, knowing from previous experiences. 'L was like that too, and so was.... Light Yagami.' The man he shot half to death in absolute rage.

"Okay team, let's finish up here. We should head to the morgue and check into the victim's body. I wouldn't doubt we'll find find something unusual that someone else didn't." Aizawa announced, shutting the briefcase and handing it to Mogi, to his dismay. "You almost done here, Ide?"

"Yeah, almost, just give me a minute, and we can go see the dead." Ide laughed sarcastically.

"That's not funny Ide." Matsuda retorted. Something didn't feel right about this case, he knew that for sure. Criminals were pretty scarce and non-violent since His reign. It had been on the news internationally. Somehow, it just felt all too familiar to him...

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"Now, Light Yagami, you will witness my exemplary power. This one will certainly be worthwhile, though her name does not fall under my preference." Beyond Birthday grinned, stalking down the house he and his new partner in crime were headed. Though the darkness of night made it more difficult, it was the safest way to operate. He had never worked with another person before, not even as an observer, but it was bound to alter something. Light Yagami was not as skilled as he was. He had mastered silence and infiltration, Light yagami had not, all he could do was kill from afar. However, there would be no witnesses, effectively being a good show for his observer.

"What does a person's name mean to you, Ryuuzaki? Light asked, curious. He had never heard of anyone who killed by preference of name. That was very well the definition of a serial killer.

"You see, Kira, in my attempt to best L, I murdered persons whose first and last names had the same initials. It was quite... interesting, to say the least." Ryuuzaki responded, looking past each individual house, trying to spot the correct one.

"So, you were behind the Los Angeles BB Murder Case. It does make sense, after all." Light said, keeping slightly behind Ryuuzaki, who was leading the way. 'I should have thought of this sooner! I only learned of the incident a couple days after it occurred, something resembling an expert serial killer who was caught by an even more expert detective, who could _only_ be L himself.'

"You are very insightful, Light Yagami. I doubt many persons today could remember that case. Perhaps I've been overshadowed by your glory." Light could detect minor sarcasm at play. "Ah, it seems we are here." He pointed at a rather normal-looking house. "WE must hurry, or the opportunity shall be lost."

"Let's go, Ryuuzaki." Light decided, wanting to obtain what he came for. Without that item, the resurgence of Kira would be nigh impossible. This would probably be more then what he bargained for, but it was necessary to bring about justice. Sacrifices would have to be made, the death of an innocent person would just be another.


	6. Chapter 6

"Light Yagami, I would suggest staying behind me for the time being. I do not need you interfering in my act." Birthday Birthday whispered, with a pride-like feeling sweeping across his face. Another night it would seem to be where another person mysteriously and quite literally lost his connection to the human condition.

"Fine Ryuuzaki. All I have to do here is get what I came for. You're pretty much in control otherwise, though you'll be to cover our tracks for this one." Light emphasized, knowing if anything was missing or unnecessarily out of place, it would only give clues to the detectives in charge of the case.

"A well-placed decision, Kira." Ryuuzaki snickered, to Light's annoyance. He peered into the window, the house illuminated solely by the crescent moon.

"That's risky Ryuuzaki. I'm sure if anyone heard you say that it'd rise immediate suspicion." Light responded, waiting slightly impatiently.

"You should know that I take great precaution in finding out the daily activities of the individual. I have entered this house numerable times without leaving a single trace of evidence. Though we may be in a local housing district, I would say that there is.." He bit his thumb as blood trickled out from a re-opened wound. "A seven percent chance of someone overhearing our conversation."

"I'm impressed Ryuuzaki, I'm almost glad I didn't find your name and face during my reign as Kira." He laughed sarcastically, somehow disbelieving his claims. 'He can't be serious. To not leave any evidence at a scene. He's crazy, but that's probably another reason he was His backup. After Kira's rule is dominant again, he'll be another stone, another pebble I'll toss into the pond.'

"I'll consider that a compliment, by how ever much you meant it." Beyond Birthday smiled, a task not so easily accomplished by him, the blood still between his teeth.

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Near sat as he constantly switched between news channels, hoping to many pick up possible new leads on the myriad of cases he was working on. Most of it consisted of vague rumors and impossible statements stemming from fear and lies of the escape and murder that had taken place. 'The person is smart, the people are dumb.' He thought to himself.. That was something it seemed he could not re-arrange in the time since the incident in the Yellow Box. "Commander Rester, are you successful in finding any information on that escaped criminal?"

"No, nothing yet. He seems to be a faceless person in a crowd of criminals. Hopefully Gevanni can shed some light on it for us. "

"Considering he was in a maximum security prison, we can only assume his crime was atrocious, or that he had a violent personality complex, both of which could lead to what the Japanese task force have informed us of. "

"That's true, it's been quite some time since we've seen anything like that in the news." Rester was right. With the events of Kira, crime had been reduced by seventy percent. What was left was petty thieves and the few who had a name and face to spare. 'Any crime larger than a double homicide now is treated as serial.' He recalled, as most of the rule implemented by the previous L, the one who created them for his own righteous needs. In the preceding years, Near had also been successful somehow in banning any outright support of Kira. Some called it a deconstruction of amendments. Others called it necessary to protect the world from mass murder, even though the general population knew not of the death note, the most dangerous weapon humanity had ever known.

"Commander Rester, don't you find it odd that only now the criminal decided to escape?" Near asked. "If a criminal in jail has discovered a probably method of escape, he would immediately use it."

"However, he could have been waiting until this exact moment."

"That is possible. However, it seems that, by his aggravated murder, it could be said that he was expelling the excess violence stored. Nor does anything disprove an accomplice." There was a reason some people would call him a psychic.

"An accomplice? Could anyone truthfully break into the current heaviest protected prison in the United States? "

"Once again, with enough preparation it is not in the realm of impossibility. We both have seen which is unimaginable to the minds of most. I figure that i-" He spoke calmly as the phone on the counter rand of something similar to a visual kei band.

Rester answered the phone. "Yes, he's here." He passed the phone to Near, keeping his hand over the receiving end. "It's Gevanni."

'Hmm, time has passed by three hours. He's only halfway there, and yet he's accumulated information?' Near took phone and switched the function to speaker. "Gevanni, what have you found?"

"Surprisingly, not much." Gevanni said, somewhat surprised himself. 'The entire guard platoon that were sectioned to this area were killed. And the security cameras were knocked out too."

"Interior information most likely, pointing towards an inside job." Rester commented. "Anything concrete?"

"More like lack of it. There's a bare minimum of information for his arrest. August 22nd, 2002. Three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He hasn't gone by a name his complete stay. He hasn't spoken either from what I've heard, other than laughing to himself." Gevanni stopped, re-reading and contemplating his notes. 'He's crazy, great...Nothing like a serial killer you can't track.'

"Gevanni, try to find some more evidence for the investigation. We will continue here. My thanks for calling." And with that, the phone was hung upon it's mantle.

"A murderer?" Rester asked rhetorically. "The lack of an actual name served him well."

"I agree." Near placed the phone back to its original position. 'Strange, one lesson to be learned from _that_ experience was that no matter the reason, each person had a name. A name to live by. A name to die by. A name that would not keep away...' He ended his thought unfulfilled. Then was not the time to ask questions, or at least that one specifically. "Rester, pull up the police archives. Look into the homicides, approximately 10 years ago."

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Matsuda gently helped Yamamoto out of the small building. "We managed to finish up in there pretty quickly, hey Aizawa?" He staggered, balancing the weight of an extra body on his shoulders, the sun reaching it's end.

"The corresponding unit took most of the information down already, so there wasn't much." Aizawa said, leaning up against the car, not entirely willing to enjoy another round of _Survive Ide's Wacky Driving_. 'Other than the gigantic bloodstain probably produced by some sort of serial killer.'

"I'm never going anywhere at a crime scene by myself ever again." Yamamoto staggered out, reaching the compact car, and tumbled in exhausted,hearing Ide's deadpan snark from within.

"What do we do now, chief? It's not like we can do much investigating in this rural area. We don't really much much of a plan do we?" Matsuda asked, scratching the neck of his neck, almost as if it was a developed habit.

"You're right. We'll have to wait ." He looked to Mogi, already warming his own seat. ""Mogi, you have the directions to the hotel?"

Mogi nodded, reaching for his back pocket, pulling out a small leaf of paper. "Here."

Matsuda grabbed the instructions mid-pass. "A Five Star hotel? Really? I would have thought Near used up most of his money a while ago..." He stopped to think. 'That was a lot of money he threw out the window to give him time to escape.'

"I love investigating!' Yamamoto claimed ecstatically, rising from his seat and violently thudding his head against the roof. "Ow..." He sat back down quietly.

Aizawa sighed underneath his breath. It was so much easier when he wasn't chief. "Ide," taking the sheet from Yamamoto and handing it to the only one with an American driver's license. "Get us there. We've still got time to do research before it gets ludicrously dark,"

"You got it." He said, backing up hastily from the driveway, only slightly jerking the passengers inside. "Hey, you know, I think I'm doing pretty well at this."

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"Worry not, Light Yagami. However my actions may instill confusion in you, the outcome will remain intact. You will not be displeased. Do watch keenly." His voice tranquil by some measure as kicked in the door, which Light figured to be some obscure fighting style he had seen before from the man with a duplicate face. It was something he had felt once, square in the face. From that fight, he could remember, momentum was not a nice thing to be at the receiving end of.

'Another common similar between him and Ryuuzaki I suppose. I wonder how many other traits they share?' He pondered, still outside, infinitely noting and not nearly forgetting he had practically been dealing L once again, his mannerisms and habits included, though a version more cruel and sinister. His ears redirected his thoughts to the present as he heard a quick stumble and heavy crash. He followed the sounds into the inside, turning eastwards into the living room where the show had already begun, though somehow Light felt this wasn't exactly a night at the carnival.

Beyond Birthday towered over the cowering man, looking down over the pathetic excuse of what some persons could barely consider a scrape of a human being. "I can feel it, the epinephrine flowing, heheh... heh. coursing through...through my body. The sympathetic nervous system releasing the adrenaline into the bloodstream. This rush, capable of giving me strength unparalleled, yet calming somehow. Regardless, it matters not, not for you." The man, utterly bewildered by what his aggressor was spewing through his words, inched up slowly towards the back wall, managing to crawl into the small space between the couch and the comfort chair, with such timing to believe he was prepared.

The emotion on his face, from the man without a shadow, having sold his soul to the the devil for justice's sake, could see, was something he had never seen, by any perspective. Even the face of Naomi Misora had not had so much to reveal. It was only a quick understanding of horror setting in. This, however, was much, much more. It was an ominous feeling, a knowledge of foreboding half way complete, inescapable. He watched as one man rendered another to Hell.

Beyond Birthday remained completely still, noting the increased distance between himself and the fellow with the arrant ideas. "Tonight you will die, Richard Roberrence." Richard, so his name was, stared into his eyes, to find nothing but an absence of light. "The world has given your fate. Nothing can stop its occurrence. Now is your time." He inched forward, reestablishing the previous distance, slowly drawing closer and closer in a consistent maneuver, raising his hands towards him.

The man took that to be his final chance. "You and your friend... aren't going to have the damned chance!" His shaky appendage reached underneath the the raised chair, drawing a gun to the madman's chest. His unshaven face, though as young as the Asian observer, was rigid and his skeletal frame showing quite easily, his eyebrows almost flexed into an obtuse angle as his eyes darted to him.

"Yes, your Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum revolver. Discontinued in 1999. Holds six rounds. Seems you had quite the reason to keep it in your possession, which is a crime in itself, seeing as you were once a criminal. But it matters not to me. Go ahead, shoot." The words came calmly from his lips, much to Light, and unwilling participant's confusion.

"What the hell is he thinking? If he gets hit by that, he'll be dead before he hits the ground! Does he think he can dodge a bullet from that range?" Light thought to himself, keeping his facial expressions minimal as to not tip off the man of his insecurity. He knew enough of guns, himself having been a part of the National Police Agency of Japan. They were supposed to protect an individual, but they had devolved into a cruel killing method. They left too much evidence for his liking. A stroke of a pen was quicker.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, a goddamn miracle worker?" Richard screamed, the question being something else Light had wondered. His eyes shut and he pulled the trigger and braced against the wall for the incoming recoil.

Both sound and movement died in the room. Richard's eyes crept open. Yet something was wrong. _There was no recoil_. To his horror, Beyond Birthday still stood before him, now mere centimeters from his face, unfazed.

"You wouldn't think I would not be so prepared as to not even think of the possibility of you drawing your weapon? I took many precautions, this being one of them. Now you've made the kill so much more enjoyable." He grinned wide, grasping and puncturing the man's jugular as the worm squirmed without merit. Beyond Birthday plunged his free thumb into the man's eye socket, gouging out and ripping the right octive nerve, flinging past Light, utterly horrified. The man tried to scream in his excruciating pain he had suffered, but his larynx had been torn to minces of flesh. Nor any longer did he have a tongue taking up space in his mouth. His futile effort to push himself away from the monster went unnoticed. Blood drooled itself out his mouth as he lost his first of five senses, Beyond Birthday his last view of the world, grinning with a kind of delight a child voraciously devouring ice cream would have. In a swift moment, the other four senses fell as well. His nose was cracked, his hands bitten down the middle of each finger, and magnificent gashes, as the artist of the work thought, across his body. Blood was everywhere.

Light stared as the lifeless corpse fell to the floor. He could not drag his eyes away, as much he tried. He had seen many other people die, with more reason and intent than Ryuuzaki had. Takuo Shibuimaru, Hirozaku Ukita, Raye Penbar, Kyosuke Higuchi, L, he had been a witness to all of their transitions. Yet this act was different to him. He should have been used to it. It was gruesome, only for the betterment of one, as opposed to all under a united Kingdom. It mocked his ideals, killing only to bring about Justice. Light looked up into the face of the killer, stained with the blood of the victim.

"Why do you look at me so, Light Yagami? It is only human blood, composed of red and white blood cells and plasma, which is truly nothing more than water, protein, waste, gases, and enzymes. Is it because you've never seen die so brutally, other than yourself? I state again, you have never killed while looking straight into life-forsaken corpse until they are but memories. This is true unadulterated murder. No delusions of grandeur or justice, beliefs of right or wrong. Pure. Simple. Murder." He stopped, allowing himself to catch air in his lungs. "Can Kira, God, not watch the massacre, even if it is of his enemies. As I mentioned, he was a criminal. Possibly too petty for your taste, yet still..."

"Silence!" Light flew into a fit of rage, grabbing Beyond Birthday by his collar and pushing him to the wall behind, trudging over the dead man on the floor. He held him up by his throat, declining him breath, tightly suspended in midair. He could feel Beyond Birthday's Adam's apple across his palm, still as solid ice. "You fool, you should be grateful that I haven't killed you already. What keeps you alive is the betterment of my actions. Your disappearance would be obscured in mystery, and that would be that! Don't tempt me! I am God!" He pressed harder. "I have cleansed my world of the decrepit! My time is now, and you will no longer berate me!"

Beyond Birthday did not struggle, his smile still plentiful. "Your reliance on me will be the death of you, Light Yagami."

Light stopped and released him upon hearing similar words from his thoughts.'I'm afraid that...relying on me...will be the death of you.' Those words uttered by Ryuk nearly a decade ago. The words that had did him in. In his time of weakness, he had pleaded to the Shinigami to write down their names, but the only one etched in the Death Note was his own. This time, however, the shoe was on the other foot. It wasn't He that needed Ryuuzaki, Ryuuzaki needed Him. And he was sure of it, a single thread of thought contrary did not exist. "Do what you feel will cover our tracks. I must finish my business here." He walked away, entering the main corridor of the house, and taking a left up into a secluded room, suddenly leaving Beyond Birthday to his thoughts.

Light's choice of area directed him to a room barely bigger than a small bathroom, devoid of light other than a flickering lamp. Sitting conveniently, and with some, almost divine luck in front of him, on a stand was what he had came for. Light looked through the hard-drive of the computer, only to find masses of pornography, none of it remotely legal. What had the world devolved to in his disappearance? Scum and villainy ran wild, without constraint. The police unwilling to do what was necessary. The society he had mapped and created, it had crumbled, all fallen to flames, dust and scarce remains. "My world...My Kingdom, will once again rise, like the phoenix arisen from the ashes." He deleted the files and placed the laptop underneath his arm and left to end the night.

Light found himself once again at the scene of the crime, yet he could figure something was missing. Something that could not disappear on its own. His was the only body in the room, living or dead. "Ryuuzaki, what is he up to?" That he couldn't answer right away. He turned on the light and examined the blood covered footprints he had missed in the darkness. Light followed the crimson trail outside to the front yard, wherein lay his freed servant.

"Ah, come to watch the spectacle, have you?" Beyond Birthday had a large canister at his side, dripping from one side of the barrel.

"What have you planned, Ryuuzaki?"

Beyond Birthday laughed a laugh comprised of barren nothingness. "Have you ever been interested in pyrotechnics, Light Yagami?" He pulled a match from his pocket, lighting it with ease, and held the top between his index and thumb, allowing the flame to droop downwards. "A bolero of fire."

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Roger walked into the room as Rester conversed with Near, playing with an astonishingly tall Jenga tower. His face was a shade paler than the albino before him.

"Roger, is there something wrong?" Near asked, his mind intent on solving what should be an easy puzzle, missing a single jigsaw piece.

" I.... I remember him... " Roger stuttered, taking the evidence from the table.

"Something about the case? But you've never taken on any on your own. Unless..." Rester concluded, as Near tugged his navy over-suit.

"What is it that you remember?" Near titled his head, his eyes locked on target.

"I don't know how I could have forgotten that face" There was no doubt that Near could foresee. What ever Roger believed was to be the truth, and possibly case-solving evidence as well. "That unrelenting resolve..He's B."

The wind of old memories violently crashed up against the tower as Near revelated due to a single yet meaningful letter, its crash being anything but silent. The puzzle, the face, the person, then had a common history. A history of a previous incarnate. The original. _Shit_

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A/N: Hey everybody, another update. Geeze, this one took me a long time to write, a week longer than expected. I plan on doing absolutely nothing writing related for a week, play some video games and enjoy my long weekend (Canadian ftw), then probaly an In Darkest Light update, followed by something... more secret. I really liked how Beyond Birthday's scene turned out. I admit it kinda got creepy, and made Light look like a wimp. Oh, well. Do review, postive and/or negative feedback can always be put to good use, especially the negative! Seriously, still moderately new here, need all the help I can get, Hah. Thanks everyone, Happy Thanksgiving!


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